Rene Kulitja

Mutijulu NT

“And to top it all off, these birds and these sculptures, they come out of our very ancient culture and we make these things, we make them with a very strong feeling in our spirits. As we are making them we are feeling really deeply connected to the stories. They make us feel better, and these are really special objects because of that.”

Rene is a dedicated Tjanpi weaver and a director of NPY Womens' Council. She is a strong cultural woman and a superb traditional dancer. Rene's sculptural works are imbued with a charming wit, and are innovative creations profoundly influenced by Anangu traditions of storytelling. A highly skilled and inventive artist, Rene has participated in a number of artist camps, collaborating on many large scale works for national institutions. Most recently she was a part of the Tjanpi Desert Weavers/Fiona Hall collaboration which resulted in two installations commissioned for the 2014 Tarrawarra Biennale. One of these installations, Kuka Irititja, was then selected to be included in the 2015 Venice Biennale as part of Fiona Hall's exhibition Wrong Way Time in the new Australian pavilion. Rene travelled to Venice to represent Australia and Tjanpi Desert Weavers at the opening.

Rene was born at (Pukatja) Ernabella, where she grew up, and later lived at Mutitjulu. She is a well-known artist whose works have been exhibited nationally and internationally, with one of her designs featuring on a Qantas plane. Rene has been a member of Mutijulu Community Council and Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Board of Management. She was a founding director of Walkatjara Art at Uluru and is chairperson of Maruku Arts Governing Committee.